Cherry gazpacho - a perfect summer treat! (vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher)

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Cherries bring an unexpected twist to tapas classic gazpacho. Cherry gazpacho is a quick, easy and refreshing treat - perfect for lazy summer days!

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Cherries have arrived at the shops and I. Can't. Get. Enough. Of.  Them. 

Another thing I can't help is my thoughts drifting back to last summer and to the day, when I'd just schlepped back home. Armed with the first cherries of the summer I started to put together a photo which quickly became one of my all time favourites. 

And boy, am I glad it did, as that very photo turned out to be the first photo of first my book (yes, still only available in Finnish...) 

Full of excitement (and nerves) I sat down and tapped away a blog post in which I shared my big news with you all. 

Luckily there was more excitement than there were nerves as in case I had at this point had any idea just how much work would lie ahead, I would have probably paralyzed on the floor, stuffing my panic-stricken face with every single one of those cherries. 

Good job I didn't, as that day resulted in two cherry recipes for the book: this cherry gazpacho and a cherry and red wine compote I served with my no-churn, no-fuss cream cheese ice cream.

It was no mean feat for the test audience either. Their ungrateful job was to decide, which of my gazpachos would end up in the book: watermelon gazpacho or this cherry gazpacho.

In the end Cat Blogger's vote turned out to be the winning one.

"Cherry gazpacho - without a doubt. They're both delish, but this is just the right amount of... well, weird!"

My cherry gazpacho is inspired by the tapas bar streets of Malaga, where Dani Garcia's, one of the region's most renowed chefs' version has garnered a veritable cult following. 

So, in case you find yourself lost and hungry in Malaga, make sure to head over to his restaurant KGB!

As a tapas this serves 4, as a shot up to 12

Gazpacho de cerezas – cherry gazpacho:

500 g pitted cherries (appr. 700 g unpitted ones)

1 tomato

½ red bell pepper

½ red onion

½ jalapeño

1 dl olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)

1 tsp salt

To serve: crispy, roasted Serrano ham crisps and/or crumbled Feta cheese

Halve the tomato and remove the hard core.Do the same with the pepper. 

Measure the ingredients into a blender/ food processor and whizz until smooth. For the silkiest, smoothest finish, run the gazpacho through a sieve.

Chill for at least a couple of hours before serving (as this will also let the flavours develop).

Check the taste, add more salt and/ or vinegar if needed and serve. Ahhhhh.

And now over to you! What are your favourite gazpachos? 

The traditional take? Ajo Blanco; the white gazpacho? Cooling cucumber version? My fruity watermelon variety? 

Or hey - would you like to share your own recipe (please do!)

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SHARING IS CARING!

Tarte Flambée (Flammkuche) - Alsatian pizza with smoky bacon and cheese

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Tarte Flambée (Flammkuche) is Alsatian take on pizzza. Wonderfully easy and bacony treat!

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After another delightful day with my gorgeous Gothenburger I grabbed his hand, looked deep into his eyes and (in an apparent attempt at Femme Fatale) whispered in my most soulfully deep voice the following question: "you know what I love?"

He looked back at me, flashing that smile of his that makes me all weak at the knees and answered, in an every bit as seductive voice: "pizza."

Romantic moment. So totally over. 

Though I suppose it won't come as a surprise to anyone who's ever read this blog: I really, truly, madly love pizza (hey - I've even featured a breakfast pizza on the blog!)

But seeing how I still have some issues with cheese (rather essential part of the pizza, non?), I'm particularly fond of different local pizza varieties around the world that don't feature it, such as Turkish lahmacun and pide and Arabic sfiha which is one of my favourite recipes in my new book.

There are some serious treats to be found in Europe, too: Alsace is not just one my favourite wine regions in the world - it's also home to Tarte Flambée which either might or might not have cheese in it. No wonder I'm so into it - the most popular version is laced with bacon. 

And bacon, as we all know, equals love. Oh, it does - ask anyone. 

The lack of cheese won't mean dry, though (as my Italian potato and rosemary pizza shows) - this is something that a generous dollop of crème fraîche takes care of.

Tarte Flambée is something that one doesn't often come across in Finland, but the one they make at Wistub Alsace in Tampere is so good it just might warrant a day trip all on its own. 

And in case you need more inspiration for Tampere, Finland's answer to Gothenburg, just check the blog over here and here.

Depending on the region Tarte Flambée is also known as Flammkuche. Initially it was a rustic fare that the German-speaking farmers would make at home and it only started appearing on restaurant menus during 1960's pizza boom. 

This version is called Gratinée. Other popular versions include Forestière (with mushrooms) and Münster (topped with its namesake cheese), but there's also a sweet dessert version featuring cinnamon, thinly sliced apples and usually a sprinkling of Calvados.

makes 2 large ones or 4 smaller ones 

Tarte Flambée Gratinée - Alsatian pizza with smoky bacon and cheese 

the base:

2,5 tsp dry yeast
1,5 tsp sugar
1,5 dl warm water
1,5 tbsp oil
4 dl flour (00- grade if possible)
1/2 tsp salt

toppings:

150 g tub of crème fraîche
a couple of handfuls of grated cheese (Gruyère is a classic choice)
140 g (smoky) bacon
1 small onion, thinly sliced

To serve: finely chopped chives (optional), freshly ground black pepper

Combine dry yeast, water and sugar and leave aside, covered for 5 minutes while the yeast activates. 

Then add oil, flour (and along with the last dl of flour) salt. Knead into a smooth dough. Cover with cling film and leave to double in size in a warm place for an hour. 

Pre-heat the oven to 250ºc  at this point (in a fan assisted oven 230 should do). If you have a pizza stone, leave in in the oven. If not, then do the same with the tray.

Cut the bacon into strips of desired size and cook in a pan over medium heat until they start to get crunchy. Remove from the pan (using a slotted spoon) and transer aside. 

Divide the dough into 2 or 4 balls. Roll each out into a thin disc. You shouldn't need any more flour at this point, so it's easiest to do this on a parchment, which in turn makes it easy to flip it over onto hot tray. 

Pre-bake the base for about 4 minutes, Smear the base with crème fraîche and sprinkle the grated cheese on top of it. Top with bacon and thinly sliced onion rings and continue cooking until cheese has melted.

Garnish with chives (if using) and black pepper. Serve. 

For more pizza recipes on the blog, just click on the following:

-  breakfast pizza with smoked salmon, spinach, eggs and fool-proof Hollandaise
-  Italian potato and rosemary pizza
- Lebanese lamb pizza
- pide - Turkish pizza

- pizza with Prosciutto, pear and Brie

- pizza with duck confit

- pumpkin and chorizo pizza

Has Tarte Flambée/ Flammkuche stolen your hearts already?

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Gingerbread filled with white chocolate and goat cheese

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White chocolate and goat cheese filling is a quick and easy way to pimp the gingrebread. And they make nice foodie gifts, too!

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Sure, making your own gingerbread dough from the scratch does make the best dough... but at least chez moi I've discovered it tends to magically disappear from the fridge as it's supposedly resting overnight and by the time the oven is hot there's hardly any left. Instead there is a cook with a seriously sore tummy... 

I blame them elves - around Christmas time they are the reason behind all the funny business, right?

But hey - sticking with this year's theme of stress-free Christmas, let's not stress. Take a deep breath and tell yourself it is perfectly ok to use  store-bought dough, too. It is. 

I even remember finding some in the corner shop around July once. Strangely enough my stomach was equally upset after wolfing down half a kilo package of that. Go figure - I could swear there were no elves anywhere.

For this purpose you should bake thicker and softer gingerbread (which to me is the only way to go anyway). If you want something even more decadent, you could add a jam layer too. Pear or blueberry for instance would work well. 

I was supposed to add a cranberry jelly, but after I got home, I realized I'd left the jar in the shop. But hey - let's not stress about that either!

White chocolate gives the filling sweetness and structure and goat cheese lends it lovely tartness and spreadability. If you're not a fan of it though you could just use regular cream cheese. 

You could also add some pureed berries to the filling. Or crushed hard, salty liquorice candy. Or substitute it with chocolate ganache. Entirely up to you so go on, go crazy!

Depending on the size of your gingerbread the filling is enough for 10-15 cookies

White chocolate and goat cheese filled gingerbread:

500 g gingerbread dough 

Roll out the dough to about 1/2 cm thickness. Using a circular cookie cutter (or a glass), cut it into discs. Using a tiny cookie cutter (or a sharp knife) cut a desired shape into half of them. 

Bake at 200° for 5-7 minutes until the edges start getting a little colour. Let cool, fill and assemble the cookies.

White chocolate and goat cheese filling:

1 (145 g) White chocolate bar

1 tsp vanilla essence

the finely grated zest of a lime 

the juice from 1/2 lime

1 box (140 g) spreadable goat cheese

Melt the chocolate in Bain Marie ( metal bowl placed over pot of simmering water). Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until smooth. Chill until ready to use. 

Turn the gingerbread cookies the lower side up. Spread the filling (easiest way is to use piping bag and a small round nozzle) onto one half and then press the top half (the one with the shae cut into it) on top of it. 

Serve! And be merry!

PS. In case youdo have the time (and self-restraint...) here you'll find my recipe for made-from-scratch-gingerbread dough.

PPS. And in case you're looking for a gluten-free recipe, check out Veera's version at  Queen of Delicious! 

So, have you already started your gingerbread season? How do you  pimp yours?

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SHARING IS CARING!

Italian meatballs

Spaghetti with meatballs is an American Italian classic. And, thanks to Lady and The Tramps, it's cemented its position as one of the most romantic dishes out there, too. Though for the life of me I don't know why.

I can't imagine igniting flames of passion by the slurping sound I made when sucking on those strands, nor the sight of me with half of the tomato sauce all over my face (and, inevitably, all over my white shirt). 

Then again, the said couple's concept of a perfectly acceptable dating etiquette without a doubt also included snooping around each others' pee and sniffing each other bums. So, go figure. 

Somehow still this is what we had on Valentine's Day. And yes, I wore white. Not a whole lot of bum-sniffing went on, though...

Serves 4-5

Italian meatballs:

500 gr mince (pork, beef or their mixture)

1/2 dl breadcrumbs

1/2 dl Parmesan, finely grated

1 generous dl milk

1/2 onion

3 large cloves of garlic

3/4 dl finely chopped sun-dried tomatos in basil oil, drained 
(use the oil for sautéing onion and garlic!)

3/4 dl finely chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

salt, black pepper

Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan with milk and leave to soak. You want the mixture to be soggy, so if they've soaked up too much of the liquid, add some more. Finely mince (or puré) the sun-dried tomatos.

Finely chop onion and garlic and sauté in oil (from sun-dried tomatos) until very soft and translucent. Add into the Parmesan mixture along with the rest of the seasoning. Work into the mince so you'll have a smooth mixture. Chill for half an hour and in the meanwhile get the tomato sauce going.

Tomato sauce:

1/2 onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 generous tbsp butter

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp tomato pure

1 dl red wine

1 tbsp sugar

500 g passata (or 400 g tin finely crushed tomatos) 

salt, black pepper

to serve: fresh basil, fresh Parmesan

Finely chop onion and garlic and sauté in butter. Take your time and realy let them get soft. Then add chilliflakes, sugar and red wine. Bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the remaining ingredients. Season and let simmer for half an hour. Check the taste and season as needed.

Cook a little tasting meatball to see if the seasoning's in check. Then roll the mixture into 25 meatballs. Drop into the tomato sauce and leave to cook for about 20 minutes. In the meanwhile cook the pasta.

Scatter some fresh basil leaves on top of the meatballs and serve with pasta and some freshly grated Parmesan. 

If you'be been following us for a while now, you've probably gpt the hang of our taste in wine and already guess, what's our wine pairing for this dish. Yep, you guessed it: Planeta Etna Rosso. The light, mineral acidity of the grape (Nerello Mascalese) and this - now those two are a real match made in heaven. Primitivo (or its American cousin Zinfandel) is another Italian that would go well with this. 

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Figs with prosciutto and mozzarella

And so we continue with the quick and easy treats of our New Year celebrations. This one's marginally more complicated than yesterday's one-ingredient-wonder, yet this one too only calls for 3 ingredients.

Not much of a recipe is even needed: I mean, it's just figs, ham and good mozzarella on a bed of rucola, drizzled with some good olive oil and finished with sprinkling of black pepper. 

The thing is though, that the less and simpler ingredients are needed, the better quality they need to be as there's nothing to distract from them. Decent Mozzarella di Bufala can be found at just about any supermarket in Finland, as can prosciutto, but fig is a fickler matter altogether. 

Though in season (and hence available just about everywhere), much like chestnuts they remain a mystery to me. I know, that there are fresh figs available out there, glorious in their ripe fleshy redness and just bursting with deep, fruity flavour. I know that, because I've had figs like that. Just never in Finland.  The only figs we seem to get are always a bit bland with thick, leathery skin. 

This time I didn't throw an embarrassingly massive tantrum though. I would imagine the Champagne helped...

8 ripe, fresh figs

100 g prosciutto/ Parma ham, Serrano ham (nothing smoked though)

1 ball (125 g) Mozzarella d Bufala

to serve: salad leaves, toasted pine nuts (optional), black pepper

Dressing:

1/2 dl oil

1/2 tsp mustard (sweet variety) 

1/2 tsp honey (if using Dijon or any stronger variety of mustard, some more)

Cut a cross-shape incision onto the top of each fig (careful not to cut all the way through though) and squeeze the bottom of the fig so they open up like flowers. Rest on the salad leaves. Cut the ham lengthwise in half. Drain mozzarella and tear into 8 pieces, scattering them into the figs along with the ham. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle on the figs. Scatter some freshly ground black pepper on top and, if you want, some pine nuts too. 

Pretty as a picture. And on the table in less than five minutes!

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Easy peasy gluten-free Parmesan crackers

The recipe to kick off the blog year 2015 simply couldn't be any quicker or easier: it consists of 1 (or 2, up to you!) ingredient. And of all the things out there in the world it's cheese. 

Not only are these quick and easy, they're also such a lifesaver for parties as they are a perfect gluten-free substitute for crackers and such. Not so much great news for those keeping kosher though, as I firmly believe The Only Real Parmesan comes from Emilio Romagna in Italy (the way The Only Real Champagne comes from Champagne, no matter what the Americans say!) and kosher Parmesan has not been available since Fanticini family retired from cheese-making business. 

By now you all know how I feel about cheese (don't like it) and I still firmly feel that you should buy the real deal instead of the sawdust they sell in plastic bags. There is a difference. Trust me. 

Having been in long-term relationships for years myself, I love living single life vicariously through Tzatziki Champion's escapades as she navigates the dos and dont's of finding The One. "It could have never worked between us", she confided once. "He was one of those men who have plastic bag cheese in their fridge". 

200 g chunk of Parmesan makes 24-30 crackers, depending on the size

200 gr pala parmesaania

finely chopped rosemary  or (black) sesame seeds

Grate parmesan into a bowl. Spoon little mounds on baking sheet; 5-6 cm in diameter and flatten into round discs. Sprinkle with either rosemary, sesame seeds or black pepper. Bake at 200 for 5-6 minutes until cheese has melted and the crackers are of pale golden colour (don't bale for too long as they get too toasty to the point of bitter).

Let cool on the parchment and serve. As snacks with drinks or with toppings of your choice. At our New Year celebrations for instance we topped these with rucola, truffle mayo and carpaccio.

Just like these oat snaps, while they're warm they're pliable, so you can mold them as you want: around the pastry bag nozzle for cone-shaped crackers or rolled around a wooden handle for a tube-like shape. If they've cooled already, just pop them back into the oven or microwave oven. 

PS. Don't throw the leftover umami-rich Parmesan chunks either - use them in soups (like Minestrone!) and stocks to give them extra depth!

PPS. For more time-saving recipes that are at the table in half an hour, click on here!

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SAISIKO OLLA LISÄÄ?

         

Happy Hanukkah!

We are currently living the eight merry days of Hanukkah - the brightest light in Jewish calendar. And fittingly, continue exploring of the Jewish cuisine. Though, for someone of North European descent, living in a country whose culinary traditions draw from the Eastern European traditions I must say they're hardly exotic treats. Pickled herring? Pickled... well, anyhing? Stuffed cabbage rolls? Been there, eaten that, went for seconds. 

Even bagels, that New York classic that has become a breakfast staple everywhere else in the world as well is nothing new to us - I inherited my own (since then sadly misplaced) recipe from my great aunts.

So, today's treat will hardly make you gasp in awe: it's blintzes. Or, stuffed pancakes.

These parcels, usually stuffed with cheese-filling are particularly popular during Hanukkah (what with all the frying in oil...) and Shavuot (when particularly Ashkenazi-traditions of Northern and Eastern European Jews feast on all sorts of dairy products). 

Etymologically more gifted ones probably already picked up on the similarity to blinis and sure enough, they are part of the same family alright.

The filling is very cheesecake-like - not too sweet then. At its simplest it consists of ricotta and cream cheese but in my version white chocolate gives it just a little bit more richness. Well, you know me by now: in my food philosophy less is never more! Much like in that rosemary and rhubarb-tart ricotta could also be substituted with soft goat cheese.

Instead of strawberries these could also be served with bluberries macerated in lemon zest, icing sugar and a pinch of cardamom. Cardamom also works wonders in the batter itself. 

It's crucial the pancakes be properly cooled before stuffing and frying as this way they hold their shape better so the pancakes themselves can be cooked already the day before. 

Blintze-batter:

2 eggs
3 dl milk
1 tsp vanilla essence/ vanilla sugar 
2,5 dl all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
pinch (appr. 1/2 tsp) salt
50 g butter, melted 

Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and beat eggs with milk (and vanilla) in another. Melt butter over moderate heat.

Combine the two by adding the wet ingredients into the dry ones (this way you'll avoid any lumps) and finally pour in the butter. Let rest for about an hour. 

Cook the pancakes on a skillet using either butter or oil - but only on the other side. Pour a ladleful into the skillet, swirl the pan so it spreads into an even, thin layer and once it starts to set, remove from the pan and place on a plate or parchment sheet to wait. In case you pile the cooked pancakes on top of each other, place a parchment sheet in between each layer to prevent them from sticking. Let cool before stuffing. 

Cheese filling:

1 tub ricotta 
1 tub cream cheese
100 g white chocolate, melted
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence/ vanilla sugar
3 tbsp (icing) sugar
the zest and juice of 1/2 lemon


Melt the chocolate in Bain Marie. Beat rest of the ingredients together and finally whick in the chocolate. Let rest (and set) in the fridge until ready to use. 

Fill the blintzes. Place the pancake in front of you the cooked side up and spread about 4 tbsp of filling onto the lower half of the pancake leaving a couple of cm border. Fold the lowed half towards the centre of the pancake, then fold the sides on top of it and roll (as tightly as you like) into a parcel. You know, like you would with burritos or summer rolls (see here). 

Fry a couple of blintzes at a time golden and crisp on both sides, first the seam side down. Turn over and fry on the other side too. Serve warm. Maybe with orange-infused strawberry compote?

Strawberry compote:

500 g strawberries
the juice of 1 orange (1 dl)
1 tbsp icing sugar

Hull the strawberries. The tiny ones can be left intact but halve (or cut into quarters ) the bigger ones. Squeeze the orange juice, combine with sugar (through a sieve) and whisk until sugar has dissolved. Let macerate for a couple of hours in the fridge.

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